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It’s Official: Bobcat Trapping Banned in California

Thus ends a circuitous journey that began in early 2013 when a citizen of a small rural community stumbled upon a bobcat cage, triggering awareness that state policies allowed bobcats to be harvested in unrestricted numbers. Many Californians found the mere legality of trapping bobcats to be outrageous.

Public outcry landed on the ears of Assembly Member Richard Bloom, whose Bobcat Protection Act of 2013 (AB1213) began its trek through the minefield of the legislative process with the goal of a statewide ban of pelt trapping of bobcats. But in order to navigate obstructions and reach the Governor’s desk, the bill required modifications that downplayed bobcats and brought human-centric issues to the foreground.